Critical Questions for the College Tour
Spring Break is a fantastic time to visit college campuses. I understand that students are most interested in super critical facts like: whether sushi is offered with the meal plans; does the Rec Center have the newest elliptical machines; and how much closet space is available in the dorms. But let’s go out on ledge and consider the important, nay the absolute most important questions one should ask at the time of a campus visit.
Four questions you MUST ask:
• What is the school’s graduation rate for students similar to you in terms of family and academic background?
• What is the job-placement rate of the college’s graduates; especially within the field you are interested in studying?
• What is the average debt of students at graduation?
• Apart from the famous alumni that every school likes to blab about, where are last year’s graduates working and what are they earning, on average? How about five years ago? Ten years ago?
Thankfully, there is a new gizmo in town that provides factual data on colleges; Economics Success Metrics answer the question-‘What am I buying and is it worth it?’ Let’s face it, college is a huge investment. The savvy consumer does the research to make sure it’s a smart one.
The New College Calculus
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/10/16/the-new-college-calculus.html
“Going to college is still worth it, but the question students and parents increasingly should be asking these days is whether it’s worth going to any college for any major at any cost, especially if they need to take on mounds of debt to earn their degree.”
Economics Success Metrics
States with ESM websites:
Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia